Lion's Roar
by SoaringGryphonProductions
Summary: A new ally joins the Tigers from an island that strikes fear into the heart of every Dragon, Akakios, also known as the 'Liontories'. This is my first Draconia Chronicles fic, please rate and review. I own no rights to this series.
1. Chapter 1

**The Draconia Chronicles- The Lion's Roar**

**Chapter 1- Myrmidons**

In the Dragonlands, Queen Oscura is looking out the window of her palace and keeping an eye on Princess Lumina as she was playing with one of the palace guards. A fire dragon flew down and was bestowed with the Queen's presence, "Red. Report," She commanded shifting her eyes and looking at the fire dragon behind her,

Red bowed to the queen in respect, "Your Highness, those troops you sent to the Tiger Territories have returned, only one survived and she is badly wounded," She explained, not sure if the queen was going to believe her, "but we were able to get some information, it seems we have more enemies to worry about than just Tigers,"

"What of Elektra? Do you have any word from her?" Queen Oscura asked, Lady Red shook her head no, "you may leave, Red, I'd like to have a word with the survivor," The queen went over to the sanatorium to find that indeed that survivor was badly wounded with a sword wound in her belly, "tell me, Sombrana, what did you see?"

Sombrana slowly opened her eyes to the look of seriousness on Oscura's face, "Their fur…it was gold, gold like wheat, they carried swords, shields and spears," Sombrana muttered in pain from her wounds, "there was one warrior, the fiercest I have ever seen, she had a scar on her face and a dragon claw necklace around her neck,"

The nurse taking care of her urged the wounded dragon to get some rest. Oscura left the sanatorium with many a question on her mind, "Is there anyone outside this country's borders who is NOT a barbarian?" She said in frustration slamming her fist on her throne, fortunately Shaleigh the She-Fox had the answers the queen needed.

The she-fox came out of the shadows, "Heh, from what that survivor said, she must be referring to Akakios, it's an island nation a few miles off the coast of the Tigertories, from what I hear, they are fierce and disciplined warriors, trained to fight as soon as they can stand up, they'll fight to the last warrior and they'll never surrender,"

"I'm sure we can ask for terms," Oscura suggested, but had other thoughts on her mind as Shaleigh went back into the shadows, "_Golden fur…what kind of creature inhabits that island? I will have to see this for myself, but if it's a war you want, Akakios, then I'll give you one_," She thought with a clinched fist at her side as Shaleigh went back into the shadows,

Meanwhile on the Great Island the size of Greece, a young warrior was running through the cliffs and looking out at the ocean surrounding her home. Her name was Kosmima and she was one of the elite soldiers on the island known as Myrmidons. As Shaleigh described to the queen, this island is populated by Lions. The sound of a shell trumpet echoed off in the distance, signaling a meeting.

Kosmima was a strong and regal warrior. She was as big as Scyde and had her raven hair styled into ten neat cornrow braids with a single hair bang in front. The tips were also decorated with red and yellow beads which rattled in the wind as she ran as fast as her feet could take her. As the final touch, two diagonal scars were slashed into the right side of her face.

In a great palace similar to ancient palace of Knossos on the island of Crete, Kadri, The Seventh Princess of Akakios, has called for a meeting. Her best warriors gathered around her in the grand hall as she sat on her throne. She shifted her eyes over at the corner entrance to the hall, "Kosmima, you're late," Kadri scolded but didn't express very much anger,

"My apologies, Your Highness," Kosmima bowed and took her place with the other warriors present. Everyone at the meeting knew the dark clouds of war were coming and that the Myrmidons had to fight to protect their lands. Kadri knew that the Drakos (what Myrmidons called their Dragon enemies) wanted the island because of their fertile land and resources.

"I have called you all here to answer a great threat," Kadri explained to her warriors, "by Athena, our homeland is in danger of being conquered by the Drakos, I am concerned about our last battle against this foe, for we have suffered many losses," her warriors cheered in pride about their strength, "I feel that it is in the best interest that we must call on the Tigris for aid,"

"By Hermes, my lady, if I must say, our kind haven't spoken to the Tigris ('Tigers') in centuries," Kosmima explained to the princess, "who knows they might not listen to us or listen to the will of Ares," Kadri expressed concern seeing that Kosmima had a point, but she knew that her people couldn't stand alone in this fight. The Lionesses of Akakios were in need of assistance.

"But we come from the same creator, the patterns on our skin maybe different, but we are one," Kadri said confident that their sisters on the mainland might answer the call to war as they were already fighting the Dragons for hundreds of years, "I propose we send a Trireme to the mainland, Kosmima, I'd like you to lead our troops into the Tigertories,"

As it is with all warriors, orders are absolute. Kosmima seemed up to the task at hand, "Yes, You're Highness," Kosmima replied and bowed back in respect. The next day, the Lionesses of Akakios were setting sail to the mainland, something Akakios hasn't done for centuries. With her hoplon behind her back, spear at hand and sword at her side, Kosmima and a band of brave hoplites went ashore.

All the warriors were well acquainted with Kosmima and looked to her for leadership, "Such a green and mountainous land...it is very much like our own," said one of the warriors in wonder resting her spear on her shoulder. It was a young lioness warrior named Demetria. The warriors of Akakios were in an alien world, a world only their ancestors have set foot on.

"Keep your eyes open, young one, the inhabitants might be hostile," said another taller warrior in the group whom happened to be Kosmima's best friend. Her name was Hypatia and she was an active warrior much like Kosmima. She also had a younger brother named Daxos, "be sharp like your spear, Demetria, we may come from the same creator, but that doesn't mean they'd see eye to eye with us,"

Two other warriors were joining the ranks. Their names were Heliodora and Damiana. Like Demetria, these two warriors were young and just beginning to find their footing in the Myrmidon army. Heliodora was a spiky haired blond with blue eyes and a small ponytail stretching down to her upper back. Damiana was a brunette with brown eyes and a scar running along the bridge of her nose.

All Myrmidons are heavy infantry called Hoplites named after their shields commonly referred to as the 'Hoplon'. The hoplon was a deeply-dished shield made of wood and covered with a sheet of dark blued bronze. The shield measured 32 to 40inches in diameter and 5inches deep. The shield provided great protection against nearly anything an enemy can throw at it although it weighed over 15lbs.

Shields were often decorated with symbols or images of monsters used to frighten their enemies. Each member of Kosmima's unit had a different image on their shields. Kosmima's shield was decorated with a white crescent moon. Hypatia's shield was decorated with black bull's head. Demetria's shield had a white serpent on the front while Damiana's and Heliodora's had scorpions.

The dory or spear was the warrior's main weapon. The spear was around 6ft' 8inches long with a 10inch long and 2inch wide iron spearhead. The 2lbs weapon was used for thrusting with an iron buttspike on the other end as a secondary weapon. The weapon was slender enough to be used as a throwing spear, but strong enough to be used in the Myrmidons famous tactic, the Phalanx.

The short sword or 'Xiphos' was the warrior's secondary weapon. It is a double-edged, single-handed iron straight sword with a leaf-shaped blade. It was a close combat weapon measuring 26inches long. The weapon's design made it good for hacking and thrusting. Kosmima and Hypatia showed their agility skills and climbed up the rocks to get a closer look.

Kosmima clinched onto the shaft of her spear and shifted her eyes at any of the slightest sounds. Her lion tail swished from left to right, eager to see what the mainland had in store for her and her friends. Hypatia signaled to the others that the coast was clear. The band of lion warriors marched on further into the Tigertories and came across the great meadow of tall grass.

The warriors marched along the trails through the woods. They were as regal and strong as those who fought in the past. Their eyes were burning with an eternal fire in their souls; a fire burning for the call of battle. For they knew their ancestors were in the company of the Great Pantheon of Gods and proudly looking at those who were carrying on their legacy.

But it seemed the inhabitants saw the strangers and looked at them with a mix of doubt and interest under the cover of the tall grass, "These strangers…they don't look like the enemy, they look kinda like us," Tam-Syn whispered to her older sister at her side. Ashaki looked at the newcomers with a ready axe. She didn't trust them at all ever since their trireme made landfall on their country's shores.

"That golden fur says otherwise," Ashaki growled, ready to pounce and noticed something odd about the invaders, "What's that on their bodies? It looks kinda creepy," She asked herself. Unlike Tiger warriors, Lionesses wear armor. Myrmidons wear a bronze cuirass that fit to the wearer's exact proportions with lamellar shoulder protectors made of cloth, leather and bronze.

They also wore a leather thong with a draping cloth flaps in the front and back. They also wear bronze greaves on their shins and bronze arm bands to stretch to the length of their entire forearm. Each piece of armor was hand-crafted and took many months to complete. Once complete, the Myrmidon wore a suit that was both beautiful as a work of craftsmanship and functional as a battlefield tool.

The final touch was their Corinthian helmets. Made from a single piece of bronze, the helmet measures 10inches long and 8inches wide, this made the helmet able to fit almost any head size and weighed a little more than 4lbs. Helmets are adorned with a large horsehair crest running from front to back. These multi-colored crests were used to signal troop movements and formations.

"Hold your ground," Kosmima commanded holding her arm up and signaling her warriors to stay where they stand. The leader scanned around the area. The beads in her hair rattled as she looked around. It seemed the inhabitants saw them first before the lions saw them. She saw a slight bit of orange and black stripes slithering through the tall grass.

Kosmima took action and took up a fighting stance as more tigers appeared. The basic fighting stance was right leg forward and both knees bend. Their shields were facing forward. The band of warriors rested their spears on their shields which made a single loud rattle of metal hitting wood. They were ready to defend themselves as a single moving unit.

Suddenly, a rather large and very muscular tiger warrior pounced out of the grass and attacked the leader. Kosmima was pushed back by the warrior's muscle but rammed her off her round shield. The warrior slid back and attacked again with a battleaxe, "Your kind aren't welcome here, Goldie," Ashaki growled as the two warriors circled like vultures in a dance of death.

"We didn't come here to fight, Tigris, give a path," Kosmima roared back but Ashaki didn't listen. Kosmima stuck her spear into the ground and unsheathed her sword to make the fight fair. Ashaki attacked and slashed at the lion warrior. Kosmima defended with her shield and swung back with her leaf-bladed sword, "I'll only say this once, give a path or my sword will strike you down,"

"Oh, such strong words, let's see if you can back them up!" Ashaki taunted and the battle between the two warriors continued. Kosmima's warrior kin cheered her on while Ashaki's did the same for her. Iron struck Zhirite as axe met sword in combat. Kosmima rammed Ashaki with her shield and knocked her down to the ground. The tail of her horsehair crest and her cornrow braids swished around with her every movement.

Kosmima raised her sword and was ready to strike the final blow until the tiger equivalent of Kosmima intervened, "That's enough!" Scyde said breaking up the two warriors and blocking Kosmima's sword with her curved sabre, "pull back your blade warrior, or else," Scyde growled looking at the Myrmidon with fierce eyes. Kosmima saw to her wishes and put her sword back in its sheath.

"Please pardon me, I was only making necessary precautions," Kosmima said pulling her spear out of the ground and taking off her helmet, "we mean you're kind no harm, in fact we come to offer our assistance, by order of Princess Kadri, we present ourselves as allies," Scyde looked confused. These strange warriors looked slightly similar to them in appearance but had a completely different culture.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Draconia Chronicles- The Lion's Roar**

**Chapter 2- Warrior**

Scyde was uneasy to shake Kosmima's hand. She pulled back her hand for she still didn't trust them. Her eyes reflected both an interest and some doubt in whether these strange warriors were really their friends or spies for the Dragons,

Damiana and Heliodora were the last two to make the climb up the cliffs. The two similar races met face to face. Kosmima was confident and ready to make allies. Hypatia and Demetria went forward and introduced themselves even though the Tigers were looking at the Warriors with a mild neglect.

"Kiriad said you Goldens were on the warpath and are eager to join forces," Scyde said having known that the princess was talking about an alliance between the two races for sometime before this fateful meeting. Kosmima rested her spear on her shoulder as the two groups of warriors met on the cliffs,

"Since we seek blood then I feel we've come to the right place," Kosmima stated proudly. Scyde looked at the lion in shock. Their supposedly new allies had brought so few warriors to stand in resistance to Queen Oscura. Some the other Tigers reacted in the same manner as their leader,

"But you bring only this small group of warriors against Oscura? I see I should have doubted your involvement in this fight from the start," Scyde sighed disappointingly. Kosmima raised an eyebrow, "I was sort of imagining your commitment to the war could at least match our own,"

"I see, you still don't trust us, well, that is to be expected, our kind haven't traveled to the mainland for centuries," Kosmima said slightly disappointed. She looked over at one tiger named Xiu and pointed to her, "you...there, what is your profession?" Kosmima asked

"I'm a historian...ma'm," Xiu replied. The tiger warrior seemed intimidated by the lioness. They didn't have stripes and many had scars reflecting their brutal lifetime of training and experiences in battle. Kosmima held her spear and twittled her grasping fingers a few times on the shaft.

She turned to another tiger and rested her free hand on the pommel of her sword. This tiger was a spiky-haired blond named Kanti, "and you Tigris…what is your profession?" She asked the tiger with a lute slung behind her back and armed with two zhirite daggers.

"I'm a musician," Kanti replied, not seeing the point as to why the Myrmidon was asking her. Kosmima looked somewhat displeased with some of the answers from the other Tigers she pointed to, but nodded with a slight grin. Kosmima looked around at Ashaki and the other warriors present.

The Tigers are a strong race. The captain could see it in their eyes, "MYRMIDONS WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?" She yelled back at the warriors behind her. The Lions roared back loud and proud and beat their spears against their shields, "see, my friend, we're more prepared than you are,"

Ashaki could see that Scyde looked insulted, "Why you ungrateful…" Ashaki growled, ready to punish Kosmima for disrespecting their leader. Scyde held her hand up to stop the muscular tiger warrior. Kosmima lightly bowed her head to show respect to the Tiger leader,

(Next part is a narration from Demetria)

**_"The old ones say that lions created from the blood of Achilles and the blood of Penthisilea. When Paris shot Achilles in the back of the heel with his bow, three drops of his blood fell in the sands of Troy. _**

**_The mighty god Zeus used his divine power to create a being that was the in likeness to the demi-god and the demi-goddess. The being created was given the beauty of Penthisilea and the strength of Achilles.  
><em>**

**_Thus the lion was created and for the past thousands of years we carried on the name of the old tribe that followed him valiantly into battle, Myrmidons, warriors of the sword and warriors sworn to die. _**

**_From the time we were born from our mother's womb, a priestess would inspect every child born for any defects. Those that didn't fit the requirements were disguarded and left to die,"_**

**_"From the time we could stand, we Myrmidons were thrown into the fires of combat. When we reached the age of seven, we were to be taken away from our families to be trained as warriors under the tutelage of a teacher, often a veteran warrior,"_**

**_"As we trained, we were given various tasks to show whether we were worthy or not for the battlefield. I often fought other trainees with wooden staffs and swords. Some trainees died as a result. I also had to steal to get food and we were often punished if we got caught,"_**

**_"By the time we reached the age of eighteen, those who survived were presented with our shields and weapons, for we had been given the honor to serve in the army. When we go off to fight, we leave our loved ones behind. They would say before we departed, 'Warrior come back with your shield or on it',"_**

**_"Myrmidons, the greatest warriors in the known world. Now after many years of isolation, we take up the shield and spear and join our sisters on the ragged lands of the tigers. We have been called upon by Kiriad to fight, how splendid it is,"_**

(Now back to the story)

The Lions followed the Tigers to their village among the mountains. Kosmima laid down her weapons but kept them near as the enemy could strike at anytime and anywhere. Hypatia took out her flute at her side and played some tunes while the young Demetria settled in for the night.

Demetria was a warrior fresh out of her training. She sat down at a bonfire in the Tiger village and rested her shield on a nearby rock. Across from her was a tiger around the same size and age as her. She looked at the tiger and smiled a somewhat friendly smile, "I'm Demetria, what's your name?"

Demetria was a tall girl for someone her age. She was slightly taller than Tam'Syn and had slightly larger breasts. She had black hair that was spiky in the front, but smooth and silky in the back. Her hair was fashioned into two hair tails which resembled snakes which went down to her lower back.

Tam'Syn didn't answer. Demetria's smile lightly faded, "Come on now, don't be so coy, one warrior to another," Demetria said, trying to convince Tam'Syn that she had good intentions. The young tiger looked at her with doubt and interest. Demetria's fur was golden brown and she looked very strong,

The lioness looked almost alike aside from the different fur patterns. Demetria was wise for someone her age. She was taught to conceal pain and taught that her weapons and armor as parts of her body. Her teacher Hypatia looked like a lioness version of Ashaki. They were young and eager to fight.

"I'm Tam'Syn, but some call me Tam," The young tiger warrior replied. Demetria nodded and gave her a grin. Tam'Syn looked at the spear lying next to the warrior with interest, "are you any good with that thing?" she asked. Demetria was still young and willing to show off.

"Would you like to find out?" Demetria said standing up and putting on her helmet. Tam'Syn smiled and stood up accepting her challenge. She picked up her weapons while Tam'Syn was ready with her claws. With her shield facing forward and spear stiff and ready, Demetria was ready for battle.

Scyde and Zurina were busy discussing battle tactics with Kosmima and Hypatia until the sound of a spear caught their attention. The four of them looked to see what all the commotion was, "Should we stop them?" Scyde asked Kosmima. The Leader crossed her arms and watched the battle intently.

"No, let them fight," Kosmima insisted as the two youth warriors walked in a circular pattern, wonder who will strike first. Tam'Syn struck first by lunging at Demetria. The lioness parried the tiger's claws with her spear. She lifted the tiger over her head and down to the ground with her shield.

Tam'Syn landed back first into the ground. She looked up to find the tip of Demetria's spear coming at her head. Tam'Syn rolled away to the right to dodge the coming spear and got back on her feet, "Not bad," Demetria commented to her opponent, "but how's your footwork?"

Demetria stepped forward and thrusted her spear at Tam'Syn's midsection. Tam'Syn stumbled to the left to dodge the blade and tripped over a rock, almost falling on her back, "You have to keep yourself stiff, but your reactions must flow like a river," Demetria said in the words of her teacher,

"Quit mocking me!" Tam'Syn cried going on the offensive. The bonfire glowed orange in the night as the two warriors sparred. Tam'Syn slashed at Demetria whom was moving to the left and right to dodge Tam'Syn's claws. Demetria bludgeoned the tiger with her shield and went on the attack.

Demetria's spear rested on the top edge of her shield. From behind her shield, she maintained her focus on her sparring partner. She made two attacks toward Tam'Syn's stomach and spun her spear around to attack her side, but Tam'Syn trapped it with her arm.

Demetria knew she would try something like that. Demetria used her shield like a giant blade and aimed a diagonal strike to Tam'Syn's head, "Whoa!" Tam'Syn gasped, ducking her head to dodge the shield, but let loose her grip on the spear.

Demetria maybe sparring, but an attack like that would bust Tam'Syn's head open. The force of the attack made Demetria spin around and ready to face Tam'Syn again. Demetria was relentless in her furious assault. Demetria aimed a stab at Tam'Syn's forehead, but she caught the spear by the socket.

Demetria moved forward and rammed Tam'Syn with her shield as soon as she caught the weapon. This technique was textbook in the Myrmidon fighting art and is meant to throw an opponent off balance. Tam'Syn fell on her back with Demetria coming down on her with a killing blow,

"Kosmima, she's gonna kill her, do something!" Scyde yelled at the Lioness out of concern for her own young comrade. Kosmima looked at Scyde and lightly nodded 'no'. She knew her warriors were well disciplined the rules of sparring. Even though Demetria was still young, this was another test for her.

Demetria passed the test. She stuck the head of her spear into the ground only mere inches from Tam'Syn's head. Tam'Syn breathed heavily and her body was dripping with sweat from the battle and the heat of the fire. Demetria stood over her in victory.

The lioness held out her hand to the warrior, "This is no time to sulk, get up and fight again," Demetria said, trying to lift up Tam'Syn's spirits. The tiger sighed and was pulled back onto her feet, "don't hold back...no retreat…no surrender...no prisoners...no mercy, that is the way we fight,"

A chill went down Tam'Syn's spine after she heard Demetria's intense words. The young lion went back to her comrades and received a few pats on the back. The newest warrior in the Myrmidon army knew it would be wrong to kill an ally, "You see, one warrior to another, so what say you, Scyde?"

Scyde saw the event unfold between Tam'Syn and Demetria. The two warriors may look different in appearance, but that doesn't mean a friendship can't be made. Scyde looked at Kosmima and shook her hand. Warriors on both armies cheered their leaders. The alliance was complete.

Meanwhile off in the distance, the noise of the cheering armies caught the attention of the enemy. A patrol of electric dragons settling down only a few miles down the mountain trails, " what's got those fleatraps so riled up?" Elektra pondered hearing the cheers of the enemy only a few miles away,

"Dunno," said Jiva, shrugging her shoulders. Elektra was one of the few dragons that escaped from Akakios alive. She and her soldiers rested up and prepared for the journey, not knowing what their enemy had in store for them. That morning, the army of tigers and lions packed up and moved out.

The warriors climbed the mountains and made their way to Mabel and the other Tigers. The lions and tigers conversed with each other on their homes and lives, "So what is it like on Akakios, that's where you come from right?" Scyde asked, Kosmima wondered if the leader had a brain at all.

"Well, what is there to say, we Myrmidons live in harmony," Kosmima answered back keeping up with the tiger leader, "just like your people we women fight and the feral men roam free in search of mates to produce heiresses, only warriors whom have daughters to carry on our bloodlines can fight,"

"I guess it makes sense, given all the stories I've heard about Akakios," Scyde replied. Kosmima raised an eyebrow, wondering as to what stories she was referring to, "I've heard from our elders that you start training as soon as you come out of your mother's womb,"

Kosmima chuckled, "I guess you have a point there," Kosmima's smile soon faded, "we Myrmidons live under a strict code, only those who have completed a life's worth of training can be called 'Warriors', every battle is a test to show how strong you are...no retreat, no surrender,"

Suddenly from the cliffs, Jiva spotted the armies heading down the trail to meet with Princess Kiriad. As the news came to Elektra and the others, the dragons prepared for battle. Meanwhile, the Lions were on guard looking around for anything that seemed suspicious,

Through an opening in the woods, the Tigers and Lions came out to the sight of a large field. Suddenly, a few figures touched down on to the battlefield. It was Elektra and her comrades-in-scales, "-Huh...what the hell are those things?-" Jiva exclaimed in Draconian at the sight of the lionesses.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Draconia Chronicles- The Lion's Roar**

**Chapter 3- Battlecry**

The Myrmidons stayed uniform in their ranks as they marched onto the soon-to-be battlefield. The seagulls cawed overhead as a war machine made of wood, iron, bronze and muscle meet face-to-face with their Dragon enemies. In two perfect lines of ten, the Lions were ready, "Surrender peacefully yah fleatraps, we promise we won't harm you...too badly!" said Elektra, she and her warriors cracked their knuckles and charged up their magicks.

Kosmima looked on at the enemy and back at her comrades. They were all young and eager for battle just like her and plenty of experience to go alongside it, "Myrmidons...my sisters of the blade, you are without a doubt the best warriors I have had the honor to serve with, let no Dragon forget how menacing we are...we are beasts! You know what's here, waiting beyond this battlefield? A great and noble legacy for the ages take it...it's yours!"

"Huah!" The lionesses roared their battlecry and raised their spears to the sky or banged them against their bronze covered shields. Their display didn't seem to intimidate their enemy, but it caught the interest of Scyde and her warriors hiding behind the rocks of the coast, waiting for the signal to attack. The Lionesses of Akakios pulled down their helmets and rested their spears on the tops of their shields. Their spears pointed at the Dragons in defiance.

The lionesses stood firm in their positions. The sweat from their hands greased the shafts of their spears. Their bodies were a mix of chiseled muscle and buxom beauty as if they carved from marble by the hammer and chisel of Hephaistos himself. They Lions roared and growled at their enemy as they waited for the enemy to attack, "give them nothing, for you shall receive nothing for them, but take from them…ALL THEY POSSESS!" Kosmima roared,

"So...they want to die? Well then, who's up for fried kitty?" Elektra hissed, her eyes and hands were sparking bolts of lightning magick, "alright ladies...LET'S LIGHT THESE KITTIES UP!" the horde of lightning dragons attacked and flew headlong into the Myrmidons' tight-knit ranks. The Dragons pushed and shoved, clawed and scratched, but lionesses held their ground and pushed back, digging their clawed feet into the sand.

Circuitae charged her Magick and shocked Hypatia on the shoulder. The warrior growled from the pain, and answered back by stabbing the Dragon in the neck with her spear, notching her first kill in the Tigertories. Once Hypatia found the opening in the Dragon ranks, she gave the signal, "Break off! Break off!" She cried and the Lionesses followed. Their forces broke into two ranks of ten, five to a line, and pushed forward in a 'Delta' formation.

Kosmima pushed forward into the Dragon's ranks with Hypatia behind her. Amperie's eyes met hers as she was powering up her magicks. The lioness leader said hello the Myrmidon way by throwing her spear straight into the middle of Amperie's forehead between the eyes. The head of her spear came out the back of her enemy's skull and Amperie fell backwards in a pool of her own blood. She pulled out her xiphos and the real butchery began.

Even young warriors like Demetria were notching in their first kills as members of the Myrmidon Army. It seems Dragons like Sparq never learned the phrase 'pick on someone your own size' as Demetria threw her spear at her with all her might. Her spear flew like a bullet into her enemy's right eye. Sparq's neck was forced back and a large spurt of blood came from the point of impact as she was killed instantly and fell backwards onto the sand.

Demetria pulled her spear out of her enemy's skull and caught up with her sisters-in-arms. As if Achilles himself was guiding her movements, she charged up the slight incline in the Dragon ranks with her large round shield facing forward. The young lioness was spirited and eager to prove herself to both the senior warriors in her ranks and her princess. Demetria roared loud and proud after making her first kill as a warrior.

With her sword in hand, Hypatia cut a bloody swathe through the Dragons. In an almost fluid motion, she easily cut down Jiva with a slash across her chest nearly cutting her in half, "You spawn of a dritch!" Inyx yelled coming in on the attack. Hypatia yelled a loud roar and silenced the Dragon by chopping her sword into Inyx's skull. Inyx's eyes rolled up into her skull and pieces of her brain and bone flew onto Hypatia's face and shield.

As if it were instinct, Hypatia blocked Vexis attacking her from behind by lifting her shield up to her back to deflect the claws and turned around to slit the Dragon's throat with her sword. Such techniques as used by Myrmidon warriors were often described by Dragon scholars as 'a dance in blood,' the Myrmidons believe that warriors from the past take control of their body's when they are fighting and make them strong.

Damiana and Heliodora were also getting their taste of battle just like Demetria. While warriors were attacking from up high, the two warriors were attacking from below the Phalanx. Heliodora drove the head of her spear into the heart of her first Dragon. The blood from the wound splattered on her shield, "No prisoners!" She yelled pulling the blade out as her victim fell backwards. Her lioness comrades roared in response to her battlecry.

"No mercy!" Damiana roared sticking the head of her spear into the left eye of a dragon and forcing her down to the sand. The battle was quickly turning into a massacre. Elektra's dragons were used to fighting tigers, but this was an organized band of professional soldiers. Something the Dragons were not used to fighting. As lions live together in prides, Myrmidons work together as a single unit.

Myrmidon blades and spears cut and stabbed their way through the Dragons as they had utterly underestimated their opponent and were paying for it in their own blood. They had never faced an opponent quite like this. The screams of the dying and blades cutting through flesh and bone echoed in the salty ocean air. Elektra was in shock and disbelief at the strength of the lioness war machine against her comrades.

But Elektra wasn't going to roll over on her back and surrender. Instead, she regrouped her remaining forces and launched a second charge on the Myrmidon Phalanx. But the Dragons could break the lionesses' organized ranks. Elektra's Dragons were used to killing Tigers in battle, but this was whole new animal Elektra was facing. The Dragons' chances of victory were growing slimmer and slimmer, Kosmima gave Scyde the order.

The second part of the battle plan sprang into action as the Dragons were preparing to retreat. The Lionesses weapons and shields were covered in caked on Dragon blood, "Tigers now!" Kosmima yelled pointing her sword toward the cliffs behind the Dragon lines. Out from behind the rocks, the Tigers attacked the Dragons from the rear. The law of battle for the Myrmidons is 'no retreat and no surrender, fight until your last breath'

"Alright, let's show these ladies what we can do!" Scyde cried and led her warriors in their surprise attack on Elektra. The lightning dragon leader was quickly slain by Scyde while Ashaki and the others finished off what was left of her warriors. After receiving a knife wound from Kanti, The Light Dragon Sombrana managed to escape the carnage with a bleeding scar while her dead kin littered the blood red sands of the battlefield.

Zurina used the blades of her scythe to hook a retreating dragon out of the sky and drove the tip of her weapon into her enemy's skull. Blood dripped down for all sides of her head as Zurina pulled the blade back out. Kosmima looked disappointed that one Dragon managed to escape the fray. She put her sword back in its scabbard and pulled her spear out of the dead Amperie's skull, "Victory!" Zurina cried, raising the blade of her scythe to the sky,

The alliance of Lionesses and Tigers cheered as they had won the battle. As evening fell, Kosmima bathed in the ocean with her Lioness comrades and Tiger allies but wasn't in a cheery mood like all the others, "You won a battle, this is a victory Kosmima, c'mon be joyful, be happy!" Tam'Syn said to the Lioness warrior. Kosmima looked at the young tiger with a light grin and leaned back to soak her hundreds of braids in the ocean water.

"I will be happy once the war ends, young warrior," Kosmima replied and put back on her leather thong. She turned around and faced Ashaki's younger sister, "when the last trumpet sounds and the last warrior stands, only then will I express my joy, when there is no one left to fight and peace reigns over all, sadly the only way to achieve this peace is through blood…but it will come, I assure you," She warmed herself by the fire with the others.

The beach was soon covered with the bloodied and mangled corpse of Elektra's warrior. The bodies of the dead were piled up and left to the seagulls to feast on except for Elektra whom was had her severed head put on a spear as a warning to any Dragons that happen to pass by the battlefield. Their souls were now in the hands of Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx.

Scyde took a seat next to Kosmima, "Mind if I sit here?" She asked, Kosmima looked up at her and lightly nodded a 'no', "you're quite a warrior, Kosmima, it seems I shouldn't have doubted you and your friends," Kosmima simply nodded to her in understanding, "I see…not much of a talker are you, oh well, you and your friends have lifted our spirits up in this war, we are glad to have you fighting by our side...glad, glad you understand that?"

"Is that so?" Kosmima replied looking up at the stars, "The Dragon scholars would rather not document the campaign against Kadri, pity one managed to escape, that means she will bring information on our tactics," Scyde nodded in agreement, "that means we are going to have to plan a new battle strategy," Kosmima too seemed interested in her ally, "Scyde is your name, correct?" Scyde nodded, "you have much battle experience, yes?"

"I do, in fact some of my students are fighting alongside me," Scyde said to Lioness and introduced her to her group of warriors one by one. Kosmima did the same to Scyde as all the Lionesses from Akakios introduced themselves. It seemed the two races were not so different. In both races the women fight and the feral males roam free and search for mates, "so…do you have any family?" Scyde asked, the lioness lightly nodded to the Tiger's question,

"My mother was named Leucothea, she died fighting in the war when I was a cub, the only living family I have is my younger brother, Themistocles…and a mate, Xanthos, he's watching over my daughter, Nerine," Scyde lightly chuckled at Kosmima's sense of humor, "these weapons and shield I carry belonged to my mother," Scyde nodded in understanding, many Dragons, Tigers and Lions had fought and died over the centuries since the war began,

"You must have a great family, I bet your mother is very proud to see your carrying on her legacy," Scyde said looking at Kosmima's golden eyes with a friendly grin and looking up at the mountains, "we still have a long trek ahead of us; we shouldn't keep Princess Kiriad waiting," Kosmima nodded lightly in understanding and fell asleep under the stars, grasping her spear and placing her shield near her in case the enemy tires to attack at night.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Draconia Chronicles**

**Chapter 4- Fields of Gold (Lover, Soldier, Mother)**

Before being stationed in the Tigertories, Kosmima was a warrior and at the same time a mother. In Myrmidon tradition, if a priestess found the child born from the mother to be unfit to train, it was up to the male to take the child's life. Such instances haven't happened in Akakios in one hundred years.

Kosmima had a family of her own back on the island. She had a five year old daughter named Nerine being looked after by her mate Xanthos while she was away. Before her journey, she spent an evening under the starry skies with her mate. Naked but not embarrassed, she become one with her mate.

The two of them made love under the cover of the wheat fields outside her home while their daughter was asleep. The sounds of rustling wheat and the warrior's playful titter echoed in the night. Kosmima stretched out her back, "I stand by my words when I say no male can rival you, Xanthos," she stated,

Xanthos is a big strapping male weighing around 586lbs with a great mane of blond and brown. Kosmima looked deep into her mate's brown eyes and sighed, but he could see where this was going, "Her highness Kadri has called on me to serve," She said, Xanthos let out a worried groan,

"Xanthos, my love, you have my word, I shall return to you," She vowed hugging him and burying her face into his mane, "I entrust that you will protect our daughter," Xanthos let out a growl, saying he would guard her with his life, "thank you, upon my return, I assure you, you will be greatly rewarded,"

Now in the Tigertories, she, like the warriors she commands, has something worth fighting for, honor. Honor to her family, her country and her Myrmidon heritage. As her warriors marched alongside the tigers, Scyde could see the Lioness had something on her mind, "You miss him, don't you?"

"The same way you miss your brother," Kosmima replied, adjusting her grip on her shield, "you know there's a saying our family says to us warriors before we go off to fight," Scyde raised an eyebrow, seeming to show interest in Kosmima's words, "come back with your shield…or on it," the lion stated,

"Wow…talk about tough love," Scyde commented, Kosmima rested her spear on her shoulder and lightly smiled back at Scyde, "I don't think I've met anybody with your kind of determination, Kosmima, it's almost like you came out of your mother ready to fight," Kosmima's smile lightly faded,

"You shouldn't be giving me all the credit, Scyde, everyone does their part for battle," Kosmima stated, "we Myrmidons do what we were trained to do, what we were born to do," Scyde and Kosmima were at the head of the allied forces and surveying the battlefield, "let us set up camp,"

Demetria and Tam'Syn gathered wood while Hypatia and Kanti were entertaining the warriors by playing songs on their flute and lute. The news of the lions spread throughout the Tigertories and the Dragonlands. Oscura was furious and there was confidence building up in the Tigers.

Back on Akakios, Kadri was making preparations to meet with Princess Kiriad. The lioness didn't carry a xiphos at her side. Instead she has another piece of lioness weaponry carried by her royal soldiers, the kopis. It is single handed, forward curving sword noted for its powerful downward swing.

The kopis has a single-edged blade that pitched forward towards the point, the edge being concave on the part of the sword nearest the hilt, but swelling to convexity towards the tip. The blade measures around 65cm long and its shape made it suitable for hacking and thrusting much like the xiphos.

The princess's hoplon shield was colored in a shade of dark blue and decorated with the head of Medusa. Although she has the title of princess in front of her name, she was a veteran warrior. She gathered her 40 troops. All of whom had daughters to carry on their names if they died in battle.

"My warriors, it brings me great satisfaction to be fighting alongside you, for we are about to follow in the footsteps of our foremothers!" Her warriors raised their spears and roared their battlecry, "on that beach, we face a powerful opponent, more powerful than anything on this earth,"

"But I say, let them come! Let them come with the fury of their False Gods! By Athena, We will stand firm, we shall not fall, shields locked, spears ready, and death fully embraced!" Kadri yelled loud and proud raising her spear to the sky and her warriors cheered until their throats were hoarse.

In the Dragonlands, it was another story. News of the princess making her way to the Tigertories and the defeat at the shores has reached the Oscura via Shaleigh, "So…it seems a few fleatraps have the gall to stand up against me, I don't whether to call them really brave or really stupid," said the Queen,

"A mix of both I'd say, lionesses, like some tigers, are brutes, they know only how to fight, Akakios itself is like a giant army barracks," Shaleigh explained, Queen Oscura nodded in understanding. She looked put the window of her castle in a deep state of thought. It was time for her to meet the enemy.

Meanwhile, Kadri and her warriors made the two day journey across the channel on to the shores of the Tigertories, about five miles from the battlefield. There, Kiriad was waiting for her, "Princess Kiriad, what a pleasant surprise," Kadri said greeting the white Tiger Princess and her guards.

The 25 year old Kadri took off her helmet and rested her other hand on the pommel of her sword, "Kadri, thank you for coming, we have much to discuss," Princess Kiriad led the Lioness Princess to a cave where a large map of the Tigertories and Dragonlands was sitting on a table,

Both groups of warriors camped outside the cave while the two princesses discuss a plan of action, "According to Captain Kosmima, the battlefield is located just along the coast, by Chronos, if we use our time wisely we can meet them before the Drakos bring reinforcements," She explained,

"To think I told Scyde to go and find the Zhirite Claw, now with your warriors being here, I feel there has been quite a surge of confidence among my people," Kiriad said to the Princess shouldering her mighty spear, "we have lost so much in these centuries of fighting, now we can end the war,"

"Cry for those dear to you who have fallen, but know that they died bravely, for it is a warrior's destiny to die in the perfect battle, one princess to another," Kadri replied and exited the cave. Her warriors stood up at attention almost in unison. Their discipline surprised Kiriad, "we're moving out!"

The lionesses marched in their organized ranks while the Tigers walked up the trails in front and behind them. Kadri was a strong-willed individual who didn't fit the profile of what a princess would look like. She was well battle hardened warrior to be feared by all Dragons who witnessed her skill in battle.

Her hair was styled into a slicked down mohawk with a long, silky smooth tail in the back and v-shaped in the front. The sides of her head were completely shaved except for a lightning bolt designs on the sides. She also sported emerald green eyes which made her a fearsome-looking opponent.

The only thing that distinguished her as a princess was a gorget necklace made of gold and jade. The sounds of striking bronze and pounding footsteps echoed through the trees as the allied troops made their way to the battlefield. Kosmima was surprised to see the Princesses had arrived so early,

"My Princess," Kosmima said going down on bended knee with her right arm resting on the bent knee and her left fist in the ground. The warriors in Kosmima's unit followed her in unison. The princess smiled at her and her warriors and gestured for Kosmima and her group of valiant troops to stand up.

"You have done well, all of you, you have all brought honor to our territory," Kadri praised them. the lionesses raised their spears and sounded their traditional battlecry. Kiriad did the same to her warriors. Although they have yet to find the Zhirite Claw, they were all bravely defending their lands.

The lions are a proud race. They took pride in their warriors as they marched onto the battlefield. War drums, Gaida (goatskin bagpipes), and flutes coupled with the sounds of uniform marching footsteps in rank and the clatter of bronze armor and shields made for quite a sight to behold for the Dragons.

As Princess Kadri predicted, Dragon reinforcements arrived along with the very Queen of the Dragons herself. A queen that has mastered all five elements, But Kadri stood defiant in the face of the monarch, "Let me guess…you must be…Oscura?" She asked, slightly innocently to Queen Oscura,

Oscura looked up at the sky. The crows were cawing overhead on top of the bones of the fallen dragons, "Come now, let us reason, it would be a great waste, it would insane for you, brave princesses, and your troops to die, all over a mere misunderstanding, there is much we can share,"

The lioness warriors meanwhile were going about their daily business, grooming each other over jumping off cliffs into the ocean to refreshing themselves, "Well then, we have been displaying our culture with you for the past few days," Kadri remarked looking up at the Queen of Dragons,

"Your are both fascinating races, even now you are being insolent, in face of death and someone more powerful than you, honestly, you two are fools to stand against me, imagine what horrible fate awaits you when I would kill any of my own warriors for victory," Oscura replied,

"And I…would gladly die for any of mine," said Kiriad. Her warriors and Kadri's come forth to face the Queen. Queen Oscura's escort of Fire type and Water type dragons still outnumbered the combined Lioness and Tiger forces. Queen Oscura was unphased by Kiriad's brave words, the words of a queen.

"You're smart for a fleatrap," Oscura said in saccharin sweetness, "consider what would become of your lands, the ground you valiantly protect turned to ash at my hand consider the fate of your mates, now that they know you are not there to protect them," Kadri lightly smiled at Oscura's threats.

"Well clearly you don't know our mates, we might as well have marched them up here, considering the performance of your Dragons," Kadri joked getting up closer to the Dragon Queen, "you have many Dragons, Oscura, but few warriors," Kadri grasped the shaft of her spear,

"You will achieve nothing for your sacrifice," Oscura hissed, "your heirs will be our slaves, all historians will have eyes plucked and their tongues cut from their mouths, why...even uttering your names or mentioning your lands will be punishable by death...the world will never know you existed,"

"No...Our daughters will know that free people stood up to a tyrant," Kiriad said in defiance. Queen Oscura nodded in understanding. She was formulating a simple plan, hopefully one that wouldn't require too much blood to be spilled. The Dragon Queen smiled a small smirk at the two princesses.

"And before this battle is over...that even one who has mastered all five elements...can bleed," Kadri said, standing proudly and confidently by Princess Kiriad's side. Queen Oscura crossed her arms and seemed impressed by her enemy's arrogance in face of her superior force.

"I don't think so," replied the Queen, "let's settle this the old way, your best warriors against mine, you defeat them and we will leave, but we defeat yours then you will leave and surrender this battlefield," Kosmima stepped up at the opportunity. Kadri stopped her from going any further,

"Humph, imagine a queen who fights her own battles, wouldn't that be something for your scribes to document?" Kadri growled and put on her helmet for battle. Any one of the lionesses present would have wanted the honor to fight, but Kadri was a warrior first and princess second.

It is not hard to see the difference between Princess Kadri on the battlefield and Myrmidon regulars like Damiana or Demetria. Kadri wore a Corinthian helmet and the same armor like her comrades, but hers had two blue and white horsehair crests and her black ponytail was visible from the back.

Oscura went back to her escort and summoned two dragons to face them, "Cinder…Kighan," Oscura called forth from the Dragons ranks. The Dragons cheered them on as they went up to the sands of the battlefield roughly 200 yards long at its widest, "so...she wants to die...show no mercy,"

"Ashaki!" Kiriad called forth from the tiger warriors. She has an impressive physique and was a lethal warrior much like the Princess standing next to her. Princess Kadri, on the other hand, stands 6'1 and weighs 254lbs. The princess looked at the taller tiger and gave a small, friendly smile.

"I hope you washed your ass today," Cinder joked to Kighan, the fire dragon chuckled at Cinder's remark, "it's about to be kissed by a princess." Kadri stuck her spear into the ground and unsheathed her deadly kopis while Ashaki had a ready axe. Ashaki nodded to the battle ready lioness.

"Strength in honor," Kadri said as her words of wisdom to Ashaki. Kadri stuck her spear into the ground. The edges of the warrior's weapons gleamed in the sunlight. Kighan and Cinder were throwing fireballs with the accuracy of throwing knives. The lioness defended her with her round shield

"Heh, same to you...I'm honored to fight be your side," Ashaki smirked itching to kill a Dragon, Kadri overlooked Ashaki's rudeness for she maintained focus on her enemy, "that's a cool sword you have there, your highness," Kadri thanked the tiger with a single nod,

Fireballs bounced off her bronze while Ashaki used her agility to dodge them. Kadri quickened her pace as she got closer and closer to the charging Dragons until she went into a full on sprint. Cinder's clawed hands were burning like demons from Hades, "Die!" Cinder cried trying to grab the princess.

The princess skipped up to launch herself into the air and move to the side to dodge Cinder's attack. Like a bolt of lightning, she plunged the tip of her sword into the trapezius. Cinder cringed from the wound, but surrendered to Thanatos and fell on her knees then face down in the sand.

The princess's sword was covered from tip to guard in Dragon blood. The Dragon warriors kept their distance; none of them had ever seen a princess fight like that, "Is there anyone else who dares to challenge us!" She yelled at the warriors flashing the tip of her sword at Queen Oscura's army.

With one swing from her battleaxe, Ashaki cleaved Kighan's skull from crown to chin. The Lionesses and Tigers cheered and struck their weapons against their shields. Queen Oscura couldn't believe what just unfolded. Two warriors from inferior races just defeated her warriors.

Queen Oscura was disappointed looking at the bodies of the two fallen fire dragons. Kadri came up to Oscura sword drawn, "Do we have terms?" She asked. The Queen nodded 'yes' and her Dragons left. Kadri put her sword back in its sheath and rejoined her troops on their side of the beach.

Despite holding their ground on a bet, Kadri wasn't convinced Oscura was going to give up. The thing was she knew the Queen's Achilles heel, "_Oscura's a strong ruler, no doubt about that, she doesn't know the limits of her power_," She thought to herself while she sharpened her sword with a stone,


	5. Chapter 5

**The Draconia Chronicles- Lion's Roar**

**Chapter 5- Caged Beast**

Although the alliance only won on a bet, it was still a victory, but warriors like Heliodora and Damiana had much to learn as the two of them went on patrol with Demetria, "Keep your eyes open, my warriors," Demetria instructed shifting her eyes around for any sudden movements in the area,

The three warriors were walking along a forest trail often used by merchants, "The enemy can strike anytime and anywhere, so be on the lookout," suddenly there came a rustling noise coming from the bushes, "stay here, I'm going to have a look," she whispered and her warriors followed their orders,

With her shield and spear and the ready, Demetria went ahead and snuck into the bushes, "By all the Gods!" She exclaimed as she was ambushed by five Fire type Dragons. She attacked with her spear only to have it parried away and her shield thrown to the ground, "Heliodora, Damiana, raise the-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, the Dragons knocked her unconscious, "-Heh, pathetic fleatrap-," said Chala as she and her comrades dragged her back to camp. A small bit of blood was dripping from the head wound as Demetria was dragged into the tent of a familiar face, "-Is this the one?-"

"-No, but she'll do for now,-" Sombrana replied, seeing the necklace around her neck. Demetria opened her eyes slowly and saw she who ordered her capture, "-Hello, Fleatrap I was expecting your commanding officer-," She hissed, smiling a sinister smile and grabbed the lioness by the throat,

Sombrana kicked the lioness down to the ground, "-But you'll do just fine-," Demetria cringed in pain on the ground from the blow dealt to her stomach, "-Tell me, where is Princess Kiriad?-"Sombrana demanded heatedly, Demetria said nothing since the lioness didn't speak Draconian,

She charged her light magick on Demetria's neck until the warrior fell unconscious. Her only duty was to hold that narrow patch of Tigertory coast, "-Tie her to the post outside until dawn tomorrow, and then execute her-," Eleni and Chala lifted her back up and Eleni punched her in the face.

"I didn't think she'd talk, stubborn dritch," Schaddig remarked walking into Sombrana's tent after seeing the prisoner being dragged out, "the Queen wants us to keep the prisoner alive, why kill her now?" she asked, Sombrana gave Schaddig a glare after hearing the name of the Dragon Queen,

"You're still doing her dritchy work? If she doesn't talk, then she's of no use to us, simple as that, we'll just say she tried to escape," Sombrana replied, picking up the xiphos that Demetria dropped, a sword that has spilled the blood of dragons in the past, "this is a matter of revenge…for Elektra,"

Elektra's lightning dragons underestimated the power of the Myrmidon war machine and thus paid for it with their lives. The only survivors were Elektra's daughter, Arc, and Sombrana, "-You…slaughtered my friends without mercy, you bloodthirsty flea-bitten savage-," Sombrana snarled at the warrior,

"Sombrana is your name, yes? If you seek to kill me, then do it, don't hold anything back," Demetria said calmly and collectively which made Sombrana even angrier, "if you kill me now then I am fulfilling my destiny, for it is my destiny to die, sadly I would have preferred the battlefield instead of here,"

At the other camp, Damiana and Heliodora informed the princesses of the events that just unfolded, "My Princesses!" Heliodora yelled running into the tent and kneeling before the princess, "Demetria has been captured by the enemy!" She said presenting her with her spear, shield and helmet.

Kadri nodded and scratched her chin in thought. This was a very key point in the war. Even though her best young warrior had been captured, she remained confident, "You need not worry, be confident in your fellow warrior; it will take more than a few Dragons to deal with the likes of her,"

The two warriors pounded a fist against their chests and exited. Meanwhile in the forest, Demetria's wrists were tied in front as she waited for her time to come. Sombrana passed by her prisoner and glared at her, "Heh, you have a personal hatred for my commanding officer? How childish,"

"-Shut your dritchy mouth!-" Sombrana roared, grabbing her by the throat, Demetria lightly smiled at her, "-I can't wait for tomorrow, I'll skin you alive and make a cloak out of your hide-," Demetria lightly chuckled at her threat, "-what, may I ask, is so funny?-" she growled powering up her magick.

Demetria shook her head. Sombrana forcefully pulled off the pendant from her neck, "-So I will have something to remember you by-," She said flashing the necklace in the prisoner's face. She put on the necklace and went to her tent, "-keep an eye on this one-," she informed the guards.

The air was biting cold, but nothing the Myrmidon warrior was used to. The cold night didn't kill the lioness as Sombrana had hoped and the prisoner was dragged by her wrists to the middle of the forest. She was about three day's journey from the coastline where her warriors were waiting for her.

"-Kneel-," Eleni ordered, kicking down Demetria by the back of her knees. Demetria slowly looked up at the fire dragon and up at the sky. Eleni unsheathed the sword from its scabbard, "-this is a pretty sword, it's too bad I have to kill you with it-," she remarked, ready to chop off her head.

"_Great Zeus, Father Zeus, master of Olympos, bearer of the thunderbolt whose might it is that draws together the darkening clouds, well-honored one, kind-hearted god to whom we turn when we are far from home and family, I call to you. Zeus, I am alone; I stand in the sphere of strangers,"_

"_Friend of the foreigner, friend of the visitor, friend of those who must rely on the good will of those unknown, the kindness of the host to the outsider, I pray to you, lead me to a place of welcome, bring me safely home again_," Demetria prayed in thought, closing her eyes for what could be the end.

In her mind, she could see her family living their lives. Her sister Sappho was wrestling with her mother Xanthe as her sister was preparing for warriorhood. Demetria's mother was a veteran and a single mother who raised her children after her mate Acrisius was murdered by a fire dragon.

"You can at least give me a clean death, a death worthy of a warrior," Demetria requested, Sombrana crossed her arms and nodded to the Myrmidon's demand. Eleni turned the sword around holding the grip with both hands, one hand on the polished wood grip and the other on the bronze pommel.

The tip of her sword touched Demetria's lower neck. As soon as Eleni leaned back to plunge the blade into Demetria's neck, the warrior sprang into action. She jerked her neck back and head butted Eleni in the face. She grabbed her sword by the blade and hit Sombrana across the cheek with the pommel.

With her hands bound, she drove the tip of the sword into Eleni's neck. Eleni gagged as she held her neck to stop the blood that was spurting out in all directions. Demetria flicked the grip of her sword back into her hands as Eleni fell dead on the forest floor.

Sombrana was in shock at the warrior's skill, Demetria slowly approached the awestruck Dragon. Sombrana fell to her knees and looked up at the young Myrmidon warrior, "A weapon…what good is it if you don't know how to use it?" She said as her last words to the leader.

With those words, she slew Sombrana with a diagonal slash across her face and made her escape. Under the cover of the forest, she stalked her prey. The first dragon she saw was Chala, "-What's taking them so long?-" She asked herself, "-how long does it take to kill one lion-?"

She used her sword to break free and escaped into the woods, but not before dealing with the others. Her sword whistled as it flew through the air and killed Chala instantly as the sword went into the back of her skull. Demetria emerged from the trees ready to fight the last guard, "Drakon!" She called,

Schaddig was surprised to see the prisoner was alive and charged in a headlong charge, "-You won't escape me, Fleatrap!-" She roared with hands burning with fire magick. Demetria held her sword with two hands and bought her time. As soon as she was close enough, the warrior made her move.

She moved to the side and slashed at Schaddig's neck. Demetria had a burn on her shoulder, but was ready for a second round. Schaddig flew forward a few feet until her head fell off and she hit the forest floor. Demetria put the tip of her sword in the ground and held her shoulder in pain.

Demetria put her sword back in its leather sheath and sprinted through the forest trails as fast as her feet could take her. When midday came around, she was far away from the camp and refreshed herself with a drink from a small creek. Her burned shoulder was causing her unrelenting pain.

"_I must make haste, my sisters are waiting for me_," She thought running as fast as she could and paying homage to her gods and goddesses as she leaped off of cliffs and climbed the steep rock faces. Nothing was going to get in her way, "_Swift-footed Hermes, please grant me speed and endurance_,"

For two days, Demetria traveled almost nonstop stopping only once for a drink of water, but lethargy was taking its toll on the young Myrmidon. Her footsteps were getting heavier on the dusty trails and the sun was beating down on her back. Her fur was drenched in sweat and the salt stung her eyes.

She suddenly tripped over a rock and collapsed from exhaustion. As she laid in the dust, a combined Lion and Tiger patrol led by Hypatia came across Demetria's body, "Heh...still alive," She said, checking for a pulse and picking up the young warrior off the ground, "Zurina, tend to her wounds,"

She was brought to a cave where the smell of incense and cooking food filled the area. It was feeding time for the warriors. Demetria's shoulder was bandaged up and certain princess was sitting beside her, "You have proven you belong in these ranks, yet again Young Demetria," said Princess Kadri,

"My Princess, with the help of the Gods, I was able to come back," She replied, surprised to be in the presence of the princess. Kadri lightly raised her hand, gesturing for her to calm down. The princess got up from where she was sitting and presented Demetria with her shield, helmet and spear.

"You will need these," Kadri said calmly. Demetria put her arm through the leather loop in her shield and clinched the grip with her right hand and held her spear with her left. Kadri bowed a small bow to the warrior and Demetria bowed back. All her sisters-in-arms were waiting outside the cave.

Demetria roared loud and proud as a testament to the Myrmidon bloodline. She raised the tip of her spear to the heavens and her comrades roared back. It was an awesome spectacle that impressed Princess Kiriad and the tiger warriors. Now it was time to make the last stand to kill or be killed.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Draconia Chronicles- Lion's Roar**

**Chapter 6- Spirit**

Tam'Syn sat with Scyde's warriors as the afternoon sun came around. Hypatia looked at the young tiger with interest. An idea soon sprung into her head, "Damiana, may I borrow your sword?" She asked holding out her hand. Damiana obliged and handed her xiphos over to her. Hypatia walked up to the resting young tiger and dropped the sword in front of her, "you…come with me …and bring that sword with you," she demanded, calmly walking away from the encampment to an open area.

Tam'Syn looked confused as she picked up the sword and followed the veteran warrior. Hypatia's voice didn't sound the same to her ears, "Have you ever handled a sword before?" The Myrmidon asked, Tam'Syn shook her head 'no'. Hypatia nodded in understanding, "I see…a weapon is to be a part of you…," Hypatia made downward slashes to the left and right. Her blade whistled with her movements and pointed the tip to the fur on Tam'Syn's neck, "like the sting on a scorpion's tail,"

Tam'Syn moved the blade to the side and glared at her ally, "You have to stay focused," Hypatia instructed lined up back-to-back with Tam'Syn. Hypatia moved with the grace of an armored dancer. Grace that Demetria's mother Xanthe forged into her many years ago in the Agoge, "keep your balance…at all times," Tam'Syn tried to copy Hypatia's movements. Hypatia leaned on her back to get a look at Tam'Syn, "you fall," Hypatia hit Tam'Syn in the back of the leg to knock her down, "you die,"

Hypatia pointed the tip of her sword at Tam'Syn's chest. The Myrmidon lioness hoplites chuckled and watched the battle between student and teacher. Hypatia attacked the young tiger with all her strength, coming down on her with a powerful downward slash which Tam'Syn barely blocked and got back on her feet. Hypatia growled and roared as she attacked the tiger with heavy downward swings. Tam'Syn blocked every attack that came at her and almost got her neck sliced open.

To the surprise of all the hoplites and Tigers present, Tam'Syn knocked the sword free from Hypatia's grip. The sword sailed past Ashaki's face and almost cut her. The tip of the sword struck a nearby tree. The tip of the sword almost hit Scyde in the temple, "Hey watch it!" Scyde blasted at the veteran warrior teaching the young Tiger. Hypatia lightly smiled seeing that it was not impossible to train a tiger in their warrior ways. She lightly moved the blade to the side with her right index finger.

"By the grace of Nike…there is a warrior in you," Hypatia complimented pulling her sword out of the tree and walking up and patting Tam'Syn on the shoulder for a job well done, "be sure you bring what is inside you…to the Dragons," As Hypatia walked away, Ashaki was not too pleased with the way Hypatia handled her younger sister. Ashaki crossed her arms and sighed, shaking her head in disapproval at Hypatia's teaching methods, "the enemy is not going to be as merciful as I, Ashaki,"

"I know, but that was a lil' forced don't you think?" Ashaki asked, Hypatia lightly shook her head 'no'. Ashaki lightly growled at the Myrmidon, "Sweet Loessa, you could have killed her and what then?" Hypatia just glared at her and put her sword back in the sheath at her hip. Ashaki was a very strong warrior in Hypatia's eyes and her equal in size and strength. Ashaki held out her axe and pointed its double-edged head at the lioness, "if you wanna fight, I'll gladly give you one…," Ashaki offered,

"No, Ashaki," Hypatia said picking up her 7ft long spear slipped her arm through the Argive grip of her shield, "save it for the Dragons," Hypatia walked away to the cave where Princess Kiriad, Kosmima, Princess Kadri and Scyde were gathered to discuss battle plans. A few dim candles gave light in the darkness of the cave. The clinking and rattling of the lioness warriors' heavy armor echoed with her every slight movement in the cave, "the ladies are getting anxious, My Princess," She informed Kadri

Princess Kadri nodded a single nod to her lieutenant and continued the discussion with Princess Kiriad and Captain Kosmima, "Let's see here, the pass here is around 50ft at its widest, Captain I want your warriors to be placed at the front to block the pass," Kosmima placed a fist on her chest and bowed a small bow to the princess, "Princess Kiriad, your warriors and my elite guard will handle the flanks, we'll attack in a crescent shape and envelop them, leave none…alive," Kiriad seemed to understand,

"Yes my princess," Kosmima replied, but an idea sprung into her head. With a piece of burnt charcoal, she outlined where the warriors are to be fortified, "Princess, may I make a suggestion?" She asked, Princess Kadri nodded 'yes' and Kosmima pointed to the narrow pass, "I suggest we line up our warriors here, according to Damiana that part is 30ft in width, that way we can funnel them into the pass, that will take away their advantage in numbers," Scyde soon saw a problem with the plan,

"Dragons are smart, Captain," Scyde informed her with another piece to add to the battle plan, "they'll know not to attack with a frontal assault, in case that they fly around you, have some of your warriors positioned here," She said pointing to the spot where the hoplites are to be positioned on the map, "that way Kosmima you and your warriors can defend each other from all sides, trust me, these Dragons will do anything to win at this point," Kosmima nodded in understanding to Scyde's strategy,

"Right then…Hypatia, I want you to be in command of the second line behind Captain Kosmima, if such an attack happens, you know what to do," Princess Kiriad scratched her chin as the lionesses formulated their battle plans. To her, lionesses seemed as close as sisters to their comrades-in-armor. They fought together, lived together and at this pivotal point in the standoff against Queen Oscura's armies, die together, "hold this pass at all costs, by any means necessary, Hold. This. Pass,"

"But Kadri, they have superior numbers, we can't hold them off forever," Princess Kiriad said expressing her worry for her own warriors. Princess Kadri had been training and fighting all her life for moments like these. Princess Kadri cradled her helmet in her left hand and held her shield and spear in her right. Kiriad looked at her in shock, "by the Goddess, have you lost your mind? Think of your warriors! Use your reason!" Kiriad pleaded. Princess Kadri looked at the Tiger with a widened stare.

Princess Kadri grabbed Princess Kiriad by the necklace she was wearing, "Have you realized it yet? Every one of my warriors is prepared to die, that is our destiny…our fate, no retreat…no surrender, to the death, that is the Soul of the Myrmidon, the way of the warrior," Kadri said heatedly in Kiriad's face. She calmed down after her speech, but still didn't lose her fire, "and while you're at it…Princess…search your own soul," Princess Kadri left the cave to join the others on the beach,

"My brave and noble warriors eat well and eat hardy, for tonight we dine…WITH HADES!" Princess Kadri roared to her warriors. Her proud soldiers roared back and held their spears and swords up in pride. The fish caught by some of the younger warriors was roasted over open flames and the army ate and rested. At the break of day the next morning, the warriors were doing their daily routines. Princess Kadri's warriors were in the nude and oiling up their bodies or grooming each other.

The appointed Dragon scout, a young fire dragon named Fuegana, looked confused at the sight of the warriors fixing themselves up. What she didn't know is that the Myrmidons were preparing their bodies for death. The Tigers, on the other hand, were sharpening their Zhirite weapons and stretching out, "Your Majesty…I've found the enemy and they're…well to be honest, I don't know what they're doing, they were covering their bodies in oil and brushing each other's hair," she explained to Oscura,

"Those Fleatraps, do they think this is some sort of game?" She asked her herself and went along with her plan-of-action, "Lady Red…Offer the enemy our terms," She commanded. Lady Red appeared at her side and flew down that meet the commanders of the allied army. With the help of Heliodora and Damiana, Princess Kadri put back on her armor and held her helmet in her left hand. Princess Kadri's eyes met Lady Red's as Captain Kosmima and Lieutenant Hypatia appeared at the Princess's side.

"Here are the Queen's terms, should you comply, lead this…army off this beach and you will all be spared any punishment, you have our word, including subject titles and lands for your families and mates should you decide to accept," Princess Kadri circled around the Fire Dragon, making her feel very uncomfortable. Princess Kiriad was present at the meeting and was in the company of Scyde and Ashaki. Princess Kadri tightened her grip on her shield and kept her eyes focused on Lady Red's.

"That's all well and good, but I have an offer for you, Drakon," Kadri said, stopping her pacing and standing in front of the Fire Dragon, "here are the terms of the Liontories and the Tigertories, power down your magicks and march straight back to the Dragonlands, stopping at every Tiger's door and pray to your gods for forgiveness for all these centuries of blood, pain and suffering…do that you will all be spared, do it not…and every single one of you will die on these sands," Lady Red frowned at her,

"Oh one more thing before we let you go, your Queen must cross this beach, present herself before this army, put her head between her legs and kiss her own backside," Lady Red growled lightly at Princess Kadri's audacity an flew back up to the cliff where Queen Oscura was watching the battle to relay the message. Princess Kadri walked away and joined her Lioness and Tiger officers behind her, "Kosmima, Hypatia, take up your positions," The sounds of bronze and wood echoed in their march,

"Grrr…Insolent Fleaspeck! I want this Kadri's head in a basket, signal the attack!" Oscura ordered, from 300 yards away. The Dragons were preparing to charge, lighting up their fire, light, and water magicks. Such a sight made some of the tigers panic, but Princess Kadri was a Myrmidon Lioness in heart and soul. She would never abandon her post and was willing to give up her life for any of the warriors standing their ground and ready to fight. Capt. Kosmima and Lt. Hypatia stood at her sides.

Princess Kadri stood before the Tiger and Lion warriors present, "My Brave Warriors of the Tigertories and of the Liontories, it gives me great honor to be fighting alongside you all, although I have the title 'Princess' in front of my name, I am a commoner, one like you, today we put aside our differences as we face a very powerful enemy, an enemy unlike like anything that has ever walked these lands, if we run now, we are giving our souls and the souls of our children to a horrifying fate,"

"Hold now! We must stand and fight! Stand your ground!" Princess Kadri commanded pointing her kopis at her army of lions and tigers Kosmima struck the shaft of her formidable spear against her shield, "make your stand!" the unison sounds of striking zhirite and bronze from the combined army's weapons echoed all over the cave, "our enemy may have a larger force, but their numbers mean little around these stone walls…their power is no different from us, just because they use magick and they can fly, it doesn't make them braver or stronger than we are, THEY ARE WEAKLINGS! THEY ARE COWARDS!"

The Myrmidons banged their spears three times after each sentence against their shields creating a roaring thunder, "HOLD YOUR GROUND! MAKE YOUR STAND! FIGHT FOR HONOR! FIGHT FOR YOUR LANDS! FIGHT FOR YOU FAMILIES! FIGHT FOR YOUR MATES! FIGHT FOR YOUR CHILDREN! FIGHT FOR THE WARRIOR BESIDE YOU! FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO LIVE! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT FOR OUR NAMES WHICH WILL NEVER DIE!" All her warriors cheered and raised their weapons skyward. Kadri put on her helmet and joined the ranks.

"Today we leave our mark in history, but we mark it in a crimson stain," She roared with a grin and joined in the middle of the ranks with a ready spear. The tips of the iron spearheads shined in the morning sun. From behind their round bronze shields, the Myrmidons stood at attention in full armor and ready weapons. The steadfast warriors stared unphased as their enemy approached the battlefield. The greatest last stand in the history of the Liontories and Tigertories was about to begin.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Draconia Chronicles- Lion's Roar **

**Chapter 7- Legacy**

It was late in the afternoon on the third day of battle. That one small coastal pass was their only into the Tigertories, but blocking their way was a combined force of tiger warriors from all parts of the Tigertories and lioness hoplites from Akakios, or the Liontories, "Remember this day ladies, for when the dust from our bones will be gone, our names will live on forever!" Princess Kadri said to her fellow warriors.

As the first dragon detachment approached the field. Their leader, a fire dragon named Xihianil, stepped forward out of the ranks with a final warning to those blocking the pass, "-You fleatraps! Lay down your weapons!-" Xihianil called out to the army. The lioness hoplites weren't going to stand for such an insult, "alright ladies, prepare for-," Xihianil was interrupted when a spear hit her right in the forehead.

The spear flew straight and true and hit the Dragon right between the eyes. This display was to show that Lioness strength is unmatched. Xihianil was shot down like a bird as her eyes were frozen in a state of shock with a two inch wide hole between her eyes. Her arms were laid out as she fell down to the sands. The Dragons knew they were up against something they had never seen, a disciplined warrior society.

Damiana threw the 'spear that flew around the territories' that plucked the Dragon right out of where she was hovering, "Good girl," Kadri complimented calmly with a slight growl. Her fire for battle was ever blazing. The lioness shields overlapped each other like the scales of a giant serpent and the tips of their spears came down, "Draconians!" Princess Kadri called out to her enemy, "COME AND CLAIM THEM!"

The conch shell trumpets sounded and the Dragons charged headlong at the shield wall as the lionesses expected, "STEADY!" Lieutenant Hypatia called out to make sure the warriors at her side were holding position. One hundred Dragons pushed against the defenses, but the Myrmidons stood strong and pushed back. Scyde and her tiger warriors pushed against the lioness's backs to add extra power.

"HOLD THE LINE! BY ATHENA WE SHALL NOT BREAK!" Captain Kosmima shouted further motivating the troops in formation. The sounds of bodies crashing against bronze, iron and wood could be heard from miles around. Queen Oscura watched the battle from the edge of a tall cliff overlooking the battlefield. She crossed her arms and stared daggers down at her enemies. These hoplites were twisting the thorn in her side.

"Is this all the strength in the Dragonlands? I'm disappointed!" Demetria roared and pushed against her shield with all her might. A dragon managed to get her claws in and scratched a bleeding wound across Kosmima's upper arm. The captain growled in pain and answered back by stabbing her in the heart. When the hoplites found their footing in the sand, they pushed the Dragons off their shields and went on the attack.

Spears were coming down from above and below the shield wall in a two-pronged coordinated attack. Most of the strikes coming at the Dragons were aimed at the chest and the face. Dragons wore no armor and relied on their thick scales, but scales provided little defense against iron and bronze. Damiana got down on one knee and used her xiphos to sweep a dragon off her feet and stabbed her in the face.

"C'mon, burn with Hades!" Damiana growled as the lionesses pushed farther forward into the Dragon ranks and literally pushing them off the battlefield. The crested Corinthian helmets the lionesses wore and the images on their shields were an imposing sight for the inexperienced. Princess Kadri led the advance forward lifting a Dragon up over her shield and into the waiting spears and swords of her comrades.

The princess ran the blade of her spear into the gut of an opposing Dragon. Her enemy's body was bent in half and forced back by the powerful blow. Captain Kosmima, Lieutenant Hypatia, and Scyde followed close behind her. Scyde used her skill with a saber sliced the head of an opposing fire dragon clean off her neck. Her student Ashaki was having a bit of trouble dealing with a powerful light dragon named Elyss.

She blocked her light magick with her battleaxe, but the attack was so great that she was forced back against the walls of the pass, "You're mine, Fleatrap!" Elyss cried, seizing an opportunity to strike a killing blow. Elyss's magick-powered claws came within centimeters of taking Ashaki's head off until Lieutenant Hypatia, Daughter of Tanis, came to her aide. She ran the blade of her spear through Elyss's jugular vein.

Another kill, another notch in the shaft of Hypatia's dory; the lioness pulled the spear out of enemy's neck and held it out to Ashaki to pull her up, "Humph, someone has to watch your tail," She joked and fought side by side with Ashaki. Meanwhile the princess and her royal guard seemed unstoppable as they and Princess Kadri went on a rampage through the enemy lines. They didn't spare anyone that got in their way.

"Not now I'm a lil' busy!" Ashaki replied, burying the blade of her axe into the skull of an enemy. She turned around and looked at Hypatia whom just smashed aside a Dragon with her large round shield and broke her neck. As if guided by the spirit of Ajax, Hypatia looked to be unbeatable, "yah know something, you're not bad, Hypatia," Ashaki complimented with the battle raging all around her and her new friend.

Hypatia nodded a single nod and a small grin under her black and white-crested Corinthian helmet. The tail and crest of her helmet swished from side to side as she kept an eye on Ashaki and racked up a body count. Demetria smashed a dragon in the face with her shield. As she hit the sand, Demetria stabbed her in the heart with her sword. Tigers were leaping over the shield wall and notching in their own kills.

Kadri fought like a princess and threw her spear like a javelin at a dragon's face. She unsheathed her kopis and cut down any dragon in her way. Kadri blocked the claws of a fire dragon with her hoplon and sliced off her head. A light dragon named Briella had her chance to kill the princess by attacking from behind, "_If I can kill the princess, they will have no choice but to surrender, I am so brilliant_," She thought,

Princess Kadri saw Briella's reflection in her bronze armbands and turned around to cut her clean in half with a vertical downward slash down the skull and through the groin. Blood and guts splashed onto her helmet and armor. She bent down and reached for Briella's still beating heart and grabbed it from out of her chest. She raised the heart of the fallen dragon to the sky with a long and mighty roar.

Kosmima too was showing she was a force to be reckoned with. With one free arm, she held a Dragon in a headlock and snapped her neck. She then spun around and lopped off the head of a Dragon trying to attack her from behind. The Myrmidon captain pointed the bloodstained tip of her xiphos at the enemy, "Fear us, Draconians!" She cried as she and the warriors under Princess Kadri's command went back into formation.

The Dragons charged again, but the allies held their ground stabbing with their spears or cutting them down with their swords. The first wave was decimated and sands were stained red with the blood of slain Dragons. But the allies had their own casualties to deal with. The corpses of five of Kadri's Royal Guard were floating face down in the calm seas, "These…Myrmidons are starting to annoy me," Oscura growled

"They will break your Highness, it won't be long until they tire out and we can go on the attack," Lady Red stated, "I sent Shaleigh to go and see if there is a way we can attack them from the rear, that is our only guaranteed chance for victory," Queen Oscura scratched her chin at the thought. Back at the allied camp, the bodies were recovered from the waves to be buried, yet they had daughters to carry on their names.

The allies had pushed back the Dragons with acceptable losses. Damiana tied a piece of white cloth over where her left eye once provided her with vision. Princess Kadri looked down at the young warrior, for she had something special in store for the rookie Myrmidon, "There is no need to worry about me, Your Highness, for it is only an eye, I am sure the Gods will be gracious enough to give me a spare," Damiana stated boldly,

"I have no doubts about your stamina or your will to fight, Damiana, Daughter of Darinoe, but I have a task for you, I need you to give a message to the Tiger and Lion elders meeting at the summit in two days time," Kadri informed her young comrade, she put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a light, princess-like smile, "never forget us," Damiana was opposed to her princess's decision, but orders are orders.

"I know…you can still fight, losing an eye is hardly a hindrance for you…Tam'Syn!" Princess Kadri called for a young tiger to be her escort and a voice to speak for the tiger elders. Tam'Syn said her goodbyes to her sisters and fellow warriors. It was indeed a very sad moment. With the hordes of dragons only a few hundred yards away on the other side of the beach, they knew of them would leave the pass alive,

Heliodora and Demetria placed a coin over each eye on the bodies over putting on the final stones of the primitive tombs. Xiu was intrigued by the lionesses' traditional burial customs, "A bribe for Charon," Demetria stated, the young tiger tilted her head bemusedly. She had no idea what Demetria was talking about, "he is the ferryman of the dead; he takes them across the River Styx to the Underworld,"

Off in the distance, there came rustling noise from the bushes. Heliodora was quickest to react and throw her spear into the bushes. There was cry of pain as the spear hit its mark on a vixen's thigh. Shaleigh held the bleeding wound and looked up at who threw it, "Well, well, well what have the Gods sent our way…," Kosmima said looking down at the fox, Shaleigh eyes widened at the sight of the menacing hoplite,

"Nice work, Heliodora, Demetria help her bind her and clean her wound, we'll let the princess decide what to do with her in the morning," Captain Kosmima ordered, the two hoplites followed the orders given to them and cleaned the fox's leg wound. They made her feel a little more comfortable by tying her up to the truck of a tree. Meanwhile, Damiana and Tam'Syn were making the journey back to the Tigertories.

At dawn the next day the allies held their ground against a Draconian onslaught and the battle raged on, Damiana and Tam'Syn were straying away from the battlefield and going deeper into the Tigertories. Among the wheat fields, Damiana looked back at the distance. She wanted to fight alongside her sisters, but she had been given a special task. Tam'Syn was navigating the trails leading to the appointed spot,

As she was told when she was a cub, a warrior's destiny is to die in the perfect death. Maybe her time had not come yet and that there were plenty more battles for her to prove herself. Tam'Syn shedded a tear for her older sister and all the other tigers fighting alongside Damiana's comrades, Damiana turned around and held the tiger in her arms, "You will meet them again," Damiana said warmly, "not yet…soon,"


	8. Chapter 8

**The Draconia Chronicles- Lion's Roar **

**Chapter 8- The Last Stand (Part 1)**

As the sun rose on the fourth day of battle, Princess Kadri's hoplites and Princess Kiriad's warriors gathered on the sand. Upon her capture, Shaleigh had already sealed the fate of those brave warriors who dared to resist Queen Oscura.

The lionesses were going about their daily business. Some like Captain Kosmima and Princess Kadri were sharpened the blades of the swords and spears with whetstones. Others like Heliodora and Demetria were grooming each other.

Xiu scratched the side of her head at the sight of the two lionesses in the nude. They were both the same age and height as she was, "We are preparing our bodies for death," Demetria explained, "For we may not leave this place alive,"

Meanwhile, Princess Kadri was enjoying some conversation with Princess Kiriad, "You never had much of a childhood did you, Your Highness?" Princess Kiriad asked, Princess Kadri lightly tittered and took a bite of the apple she had at hand.

"When a cub reaches the right age, they no longer become property of their families, they become property of the territory, simply put once you can stand on two feet, you are trained to one thing and one thing only…fight," Kadri replied,

"Huh…says a lot about how you turned out," Princess Kiriad grumbled under her breath and went over to tend to her tiger warriors. Scyde was sitting on the sand next to Kosmima. Scyde had been wounded in the shoulder by a light dragon.

"Do you have a mate, Your Highness?" Kiriad asked inquisitively. This was a sensitive subject for Kadri. Although lionesses are trained to conceal physical pain, emotional pain is hard to let go of. Yet she still thanks the gods for her daughter.

"At one time, yes…," Kadri said, putting her sword in its scabbard, "his name was Pausanias," She closed her eyes and sighed, "he died defending me and my child from a fire dragon named Flare, but you need not worry, he's waiting for me,"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Your Highness," Princess Kiriad replied. She didn't know there was more to the Ruler of Akakios than just weapons and a suit of armor. Outside the cave, Captain Kosmima was tending to Scyde and her wounded shoulder.

"Looks like Asclepius has been kind to your wound, Scyde," Kosmima commented, pointing the tip of her sword at a nearby rock to check the sword's straightness. Suddenly from behind the allied lines, a group of tigers came out of the path,

"Don't worry it will take more than a scratch to take me out," Scyde said proudly but calmly. The Hoplite captain put her sword back in its scabbard. Meanwhile, the two princesses were about to get some unexpected assistance in their fight.

"My Princess, there are Tigris volunteers who await you!" said a royal guard named Aella entering the cave where the Princesses conducted their business. Six Tigers came into the cave and went down on bended knee in their presence.

"My Princesses, we have come to fight and to die for you," said a Tiger warrior named Kess. The tiger looked up at the Lioness Princess in awe, "it is an honor to meet you, Princess Kadri, I have heard a lot about you," said the shorter tiger.

"Stand up, Young Tiger, we're not Goddesses from Mount Olympus," Princess Kadri joked, gesturing the tiger warriors to get up off their knees. Princess Kadri's bronze breastplate clicked and rattled as she put a hand on Kess's shoulder.

"My name is Kess, our weapons are yours, Your Highnesses," Kess said with a thankful smile. One tiger warrior named Shie looked at Lieutenant Hypatia with interest. They were both the same height and both strong and capable warriors.

"Humph, you're an impressive one," Shie commented as Hypatia was taking off her helmet. Hypatia just turned a quick eye to the big tiger and turned away. She placed her helmet down on the cave floor, "what's your name?" Shie asked,

"Hypatia…Daughter of Tanis," Hypatia replied calmly, turning to Shie with a light grin. Meanwhile on the Dragons side of the beach, the sight of even more tigers on the other side of the beach began to annoy the mighty Oscura.

"May the Great Goddess curse them, that's the last thing I need, more of those fleatraps," Queen Oscura growled with Lady Red still at her side, clinching a fist at her side and pounded it against her throne, "Where's Shaleigh?" She asked Red,

"Dunno, I haven't heard anything from her since she left last night," Lady Red replied, "I hope this plan of hers will break the enemy lines," She questioned, but what she didn't know is that the little vixen found herself in the wrong hands.

On the day before her capture, Shaleigh had found a way to break the enemy lines, "My Queen, there is a path that leads through the mountain behind the Myrmidon lines, your victory is assured," the Queen smiled sinisterly at the plan,

"Hmm…now then, I'll send the second detachment over the mountain, and the third will attack them head on," She ordered. Even with such odds stacked against them, the Myrmidons still held their ground firmly in their disciplined ranks.

"_Humph…no retreat, no surrender_," Queen Oscura thought looking down at the Lionesses and Tigers still holding out against her armies, "_I'll stand by your admirable words, Princess Kadri, I won't allow you escape this battlefield alive_,"

As Princess Kadri looked on at the hordes of Dragons, she cradled her two-crested helmet and lifted up her shield and spear, "Princess Kiriad, I request that you leave the battlefield at once," Kadri said turning to the shorter white tiger.

"No I want to stand by your side, I want to fight!" Princess Kiriad pleaded to the white lioness. Princess Kadri turned her head away and closed her eyes. She looked up at the bright morning sun and could hear the sounds of the seagulls.

"You are a princess, you have stood by your people, you've earned your title as queen, your people need you now more than ever," Kadri explained as she turned to face the enemy, "our time has come," Kiriad nodded in understanding.

Scyde stood by her best friend and put a hand on her shoulder guard, "I elect to stay as well, Your Highness," said Scyde, "it's like you said, Captain Kosmima, we are warriors, it is our fate to die in battle," Kosmima lightly smiled at her.

"I am staying as well," said Ashaki standing alongside Hypatia. She turned an eye to the tall buxom lioness and smiled, "well…to be honest, I never thought I would die standing side by side with a lioness," the large tiger warrior commented,

"What about side by side with a friend?" Hypatia said lightly smiling under her bronze helmet. Ashaki looked at her and nodded. Lieutenant Hypatia had been by her side and watching Ashaki's tail for all four days of battle.

"Yes…that works too," Ashaki said thankfully, looking on at the enemy. Xiu and Kanti were ready to fight as well. They were using extra swords given to them by the princess from the arsenal of Princess Kadri's Royal Guards.

Scyde was Kiriad's closest friend. Her sacrifice and the sacrifice of her best warriors would become immortal in the history of the Tigertories and the Liontories, "I see…so be it," Kiriad replied as a tear fell down her cheek.

Kadri closed her eyes and sighed. She opened them and turned to face her warrior and the warriors of the Tigertories. She nodded a single nod as the signal for her hoplites to split into two groups to open their ranks for the Tigers.

Majestic in appearance and fierce in battle, the lionesses pulled up their spears and opened a hole in their ranks. The young Myrmidon warrior Heliodora was pulling out Shaleigh the Fox by the end of a rope out to the middle of the battlefield.

Princess Kadri knew of Shaleigh's deeds and frowned upon them, "Let's see if your queen feels fit enough to spare you, wench," Heliodora growled, pushing Shaleigh down on her knees and pushing her face down in to the bloody sands.

Princess Kadri stepped forward to the middle of the battlefield, "I have come to reason with you O Queen," Kadri said standing in front to the side of Shaleigh, "we had a visitor sometime in the night, she must be yours; do you value her life?"

Queen Oscura looked down at the wounded fox, "She is of no use to me anymore," Oscura said coldly; Kadri nodded a single nod to her answer. She gave a single nod to Heliodora and she loped off Shaleigh's head with a single clean slash.

Shaleigh's head rolled away from her corpse, frozen in a look of shock. Heliodora slashed her xiphos clean of blood and sheathed her sword. Two royal guards tossed the body into the sea and placed the head on a sharpened piece of driftwood.

"Ladies move into formation!" Princess Kadri yelled and her soldiers followed. To Queen Oscura, it looked like the hoplites were retreating and leaving the tigers to fend for themselves, but there was a method to Kadri's madness.

"Humph…Every fleatrap with a shield is fleeing, our Dragons will slaughter them like sheep, send in the second detachment, full attack," Queen Oscura ordered calmly. The tigers stood their ground while Kadri's hoplites readied themselves.

Scyde and her warriors were the first to attack. They smashed into the Dragon lines hacking and slashing their way through flesh and bone, "You're mine, Scaly!" Ashaki yelled chopping off the head of an attacking water dragon that got in her way.

Scyde was indomitable against the Dragons. Her sabre was molded into an extension of her arm and all who faced it fell before its awesome power. Xiu and Kanti were even notching in their own kills and seeing how well-made lioness swords are.

Yet with their small numbers, the Dragons proved to be too much for them to handle, "Scyde we should pull back, there are too many of them!" Kanti cried cleaving the blade of her borrowed sword into the skull of a dragon warrior.

Shie nearly slashed a dragon in half with her sabre and held another in a headlock before snapping her neck, "No! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!" Kess roared splitting Dragon skulls with her double-bladed scythe.

The cries of pain and the dragon blood was everywhere, "We have orders from Princess Kadri, fall back!" Shie commanded pulling her sister Riah by the wrist. The rest of the tigers followed the two of them with the Dragons giving chase.

Once Princess Kadri saw the Tigers through their ranks and heading into the cave, she sprung the trap, "Attack!" Kadri yelled and her hoplites attacked in what was called the 'hoplite run' meaning her warriors charge but maintain a phalanx.

The charging dragons panicked in terror at the sight of the menacing looking hoplites charging at them. A fire dragon named L'Orange looked back and Princess Kadri caught up to her slashed the dragon across the chest nearly cleaving her in half.

"Insolent Little Dritch, I want Princess Kadri's head on a silver plate!" Queen Oscura roared in a fit of rage. The carnage on the frontlines was relentless. With their numbers slowly dwindling, the lionesses and the Princess's Royal Guard held out.

The lionesses were merciless as not a single retreating dragon was left alive. Their bodies were scattered all over the sands. The Lions and Tigers roared and pounded their fists against their chests or their weapons against their shields in defiance.

Queen Oscura was throwing everything she had at her disposal into the attack, but the lionesses and tigers still resisted her overwhelming forces, "I suppose it's time to settle for terms," Queen Oscura sighed, "Lady Red, lets offer them our terms,"

Lady Red nodded and flew down to the beach with the Queen following. Princess Kadri stood in the middle of the beach while her hoplites were still in phalanx formation with Tiger warriors standing in front and behind the bronze shield wall.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Draconia Chronicles- Lion's Roar **

**Chapter 9- The Last Stand (Part 2)**

Princess Kadri stood at the head of her army as Lady Red came down to greet her. There were hundreds of dragons surrounding the cliffs, ready to attack when given the order. Princess Kadri stared at the fire dragon as she came down with the Queen of the Dragons herself, "Your kind live up to their reputation, I don't think there has ever anyone to match you, Princess," Lady Red said in admiration, "but that is beside the point, where is Princess Kiriad?" Lady Red asked,

Princess Kadri, scarred and bloodied but still standing proud in full armor, looked up at Queen Oscura whom was sitting on her throne, looking down at the Princess of Akakios. But Princess Kadri had a plan of her own for the Dragon Queen, "My apologies, Princess Kiriad has been taken ill, and has taken leave from the battle, but I will stand in her place," Kadri stated to the Queen. Princess Kadri's troops stood behind her still in phalanx formation with spears and shields ready.

Lady Red looked back at the Queen. Queen Oscura give a simple nod to the fire dragon saying Kadri will suffice although she wanted Kiriad. Red looked back at the princess, "So be it, fortunately for you despite your insufferable arrogance and unforgivable blasphemy, the Queen has come to admire Myrmidon valor, now if you will just kneel at our queen's feet, you will have your victory," Princess Kadri took a deep breath and dropped her battered bronze shield to the sands.

Scyde couldn't believe what was going on as she watched what was unfolding from behind the shield wall. Scyde wanted to stop her, but Kosmima held her back with a hand on her shoulder and lightly shook her head at her friend. Next to come off was her double-crested Corinthian helmet. Kadri had a long scar coming down her forehead to her cheek, "Your spear," Lady Red demanded as Kadri's spear claimed the lives of hundreds of dragons in the span of the four day battle.

Princess Kadri closed her blue eyes and traced back to a better time where there was no war. Pausanias was waiting in the palace and watching over her daughter. Kadri knew this was the end of her life, but if she was going to die she wanted to take Oscura with her to the Underworld, "Kadri...your spear," Lady Red demanded. From what Demetria told her of her mother's death, it seemed Lady Red matched the description of the warrior's murderer. Her spear fell from her grasp.

The powerful warrior princess fell to her knees at the feet of the Dragon Queen. Queen Oscura outstretched her arms and smiled down at the fallen princess, but Princess Kadri sprang her trap as she rested her hands down in the blood-stained sand and looked down at her reflection in the side of her shining bronze helmet, "DEMETRIA!" She yelled and the phalanx opened up and a Myrmidon warrior came out of the ranks and leaped into the air roaring a loud and proud battle cry.

"FATHER!" Demetria cried with a ferocity worthy of Ares the God of War. and stabbed Lady Red in the eye and out the back of her skull with her spear. she pulled out her spear from Lady Red's skull and took up a fighting position with her shield facing froward, her right leg in front and knees bent with the butt spike of her spear facing the enemy. Demetria had her revenge against her father's murderer. Oscura was in shock at what just unfolded and gave her dragons the order.

"KILL THEM ALL!" Queen Oscura bellowed in a fit of rage and all the dragon's attacked with lightning, fire and light attacks from the cliffs. Demetria was struck down by bolt of fire to the chest, but she would not bow down to the enemy. Everyone opposing Oscura's armies knew their time had come. Scyde nor Ashaki and the other Tigers fled the field. They stood their ground. A wounded Scyde crawled on the battlefield with a wounded leg and two light magick wounds in her stomach.

"Kosmima," she muttered crawling up to her fallen friend whom was breathing her last breaths as she was struck in the side of the neck by a fire ball , "it was an honor serving by your side," Kosmima fell back from the force of the attack. She was hacking blood and with her last bit of strength she grabbed her friend's hand and held it tight. Scyde was the best friend Kosmima could have ever asked for, and she knew they would meet again in the next life. With her dying friend, she smiled.

"And I am honored to have you as a friend," Kosmima replied as her last words to Scyde. She closed her eyes as she finally gave in to death's embrace the in the Way of the Warrior, the Way of the Myrmidon. Scyde held her fallen friend in her arms and died of her wounds. Hypatia and Ashaki, like their sisters-in-arms, was not giving up without a fight. Blood was flowing out of Hypatia's mouth as a fire dragon struck her in the stomach and clawed burning hand came out her back.

Hypatia cringed in pain and grabbed a hold of the dragon's wrist. She roared in her face and stabbed her in the throat with her sword taking a victim with her before she finally fell with her white eyes staring at the sun. Princess Kadri looked up at the Queen. her legs were stabbed through with wounds from light and fire dragons. Her chest had a large fire wound on her left breast, "MY KING!" She yelled out to the winds, "my...my love," she muttered looking at Pausanias in the clouds.

As her warriors fell to the Dragon's, with her last bit of strength, she picked up her spear and threw it at Queen Oscura. The spear slashed the Queen across the side of her cheek. It was as Kadri said even one who has mastered all five elements can bleed. Queen Oscura was shocked as she looked at Kadri and put her hand on her bleeding cheek. Rather than face capture. With her last breath, she unsheathed her sword and roared the loudest roar as a testament to her ancestors.

The last thing she saw was the Queen's face as the Queen herself put an end to the battle. The sands were littered with the bodies of Tiger Warriors and Lioness Hoplites, but the Princess of Akakios was no where to be found among the dead. Unknown to the Queen was the fact that two royal guards and a tiger warrior named Shie carried the body off the battlefield to avoid mutilation. It was not the blood of mortals that stained those sands of the Tigertories, but the blood of heroes.

Queen Oscura touched her wounded cheek and looked up at the sun, "Kadri...you have bested me, it appears you are a woman of your word," Oscura said quietly to herself looking at her dead dragon warriors who fell in her name. As she left the battlefield, she knew her work was not done. Following the death of Princess Kadri, the summit of Lioness and Tiger elders was being held with Princess Kiriad attending. The Myrmidon Damiana and the young tiger Tam'Syn made the journey.

The elders knew of the princess's fate, "Our princess gave us a legacy, she did not wish for praise, nor songs of her bravery, or monuments to her strength, her last wish was simple...never forget us," Damiana said to Mabel and the Tiger elders, "to any tiger or lioness whom passes by that beach, let them know that here, by the Laws of the Myrmidon and the Strength of the Tiger, we fell, may their memory by forever etched in the ageless sands," She stated to the elders gathered,

Sadly though, their was scandal on the island empire as their was now a fight for the empty throne. Princess Kadri was succeeded by her cousin Ainia whom ordered a wall to be put around the island sealing it off from the Tigertories, but she never saw it completed as she suddenly dies after only one week on the throne of the Liontories. Then in the wake of her death, the Liontories got a new princess. Her name was Gorgo, Daughter of Princess Kadri, a true warrior princess.

Young and ambitious, her name was passed over many times by the elders stating she was young and unfit to rule and the island needed a woman with more experience. That was not the case with Ainia as some suspected poisoning was evolved in her death. Upon hearing word of a coming invasion by the Draconians from he Tigertories, Princess Gorgo dispatched troops, an army of lioness hoplites, to defend an island nicknamed 'the kingdom without walls' by the Tigers.

One of the heads of her army was Damiana, now 30 years old. In a reunion of sorts, the Tigers were led onto the shores of the Liontories by Tam'Syn, "Many years have passed since that day, since then I always wondered of my princess's words of inspiration, time has proven her a wise woman," She put a hand on Tam'Syn's shoulder, "but from free lion to free tiger, the word was made known, that brave Kadri and her warriors, sacrificed themselves, for the sake of both our lands!"

"Now here on our green rolling hills, Oscura's hordes will be wiped off the face of the land!" She yelled, the lioness hoplites roared back and raised their spears in response and unison, "look now those beasts gathered, their claws, with hearts of stone, knowing full well what horrors they suffered at the bronze and iron of 100," The lioness's put on their crested helmets and prepared for battle, "now here they stand across these fields, at 10,000 lions commanding 20,000 free tigers!"

The warriors cheered and raised their weapons to the sky, "The Draconians outnumber us a mere 3 to 1, good odds any lion or tiger, look now and we will see a future brighter than anything we could ever imagine," Damiana, still single eyes, put on her crested helmet for, "be thankful, ladies!" she yelled to her troops, "to Princess Kadri and the sacred dead, ONWARD TO VICTORY!" She lead the charge down the hill into the Draconian ranks. Where this story ends, another begins.

**The End**


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